


Out of the Old

by Lilla0815



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23503792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilla0815/pseuds/Lilla0815
Summary: Was this a good idea? Was she risking everything for something that might not even work?All the sacrifices she had made, an entire year, after high school, spent working around so to save money and move to another country where she could start from zero; watching her classmates leave for college, starting their lives while she waited in the back; all the time spent working on her application for a school she wasn’t even sure it looked like the pictures she had seen.  Was she screwed? Was this whole idea just a waste of time?
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As the airplane touched the ground, a shiver ran through her back; her eyes glued to the little window and the airport appeared in front of her. She was not sure whether she wanted to cry or laugh but, after almost sixteen hours of flying and one layover that saw her running through the Atlanta airport as if there was no tomorrow, she was able to combine the two emotions as a giggled sob escape her before she could control herself.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking, welcome to London Heathrow. The time is currently 10:52 am and the temperature is 18 degrees Celsius. To those who will have to continue their journeys, I wish a safe flight, to those who have reached their final destination, welcome to London. Thank you for flying with us and have a wonderful day.”

She had made it. She was finally here, ready to start again. She was going to be someone different and there was nothing to stop her.

She couldn’t stay still and was almost jumping in her own seat as excitement was running through her body like pure electricity, without noticing, she had started fidgeting with her fingers while, together with all the other passengers, she waited for the seatbelts sign to be turned off.

Mentally she started checking if she had everything she needed and making a list of the things she was going to have to do once she would be out of the aircraft. She just couldn’t wait one minute longer to step outside and be where she was sure, she was supposed to be.

As they finally opened the doors, she quickly queued with the others, grabbing her carry-on and her backpack in a matter of seconds and having to inhale deeply so to contain herself from shouting at the passengers who, instead, seemed to take ages to get ready to get out.

She will never say it to anyone, but as she stepped out of the airplane and the typical cloudy sky appeared in front of her, she stood on top of the staircase and she felt like she was able to breathe for the first time in nineteen years.

Following the indications, she walked to the airport’s custom while looking around and trying to absorb every single detail she could; she was never going to forget this moment, as she freely walked through one of the busiest airports in the world, holding her black suitcase in one hand and her blue passport in the other.

Finally reaching her destination, she queued one more time and impatiently waited for her turn, she _definitely_ needed to stop at the restroom, collect the bigger suitcase, get something to eat and call her mothers, but for now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment: being there totally undisturbed and left in her perfect bliss.

“Good morning!” she exclaimed giving the passport to a very stoic agent who, simply, took her passport and started checking it.

“Nina Salazar-Roberts?” he asked flipping the pages of the document.

“Yes, sir.” She answered trying very hard not to smile.

“And you are here as…?”

“Oh, I am a student! I mean, not yet, but I will be one from Monday! I am going to the University of London.”

The man nodded absently. “Your visa?”

“Page 4, sir.”

He checked the page and started typing something on the computer in front of him. Nina waited, shaking her leg in anticipation and trying to contain her anxiety.

“Look at the camera, please.” The agent spoke, positioning the little machine in front of her. “No smiles.”

_Trying to._ She thought while struggling to keep a straight face.

The man took the picture, typed something else and then gave the passport back to Nina. “Good luck.”

Finally, she smiled. “Thank you!” the girl said, and walked away, ready for her next adventure.

It was overwhelming the number of people that were walking and running around her, but as she walked towards the escalator, she just couldn’t care less, she felt on top of the world and well, it was amazing.

This was going to be her chance, she was going to prove to herself that she could do it, that she was more than she thought she was. She was going to make it. She was going to prove them wrong.

Her suitcase arrived pretty fast and she sighed in relief, grabbing it and, finally, heading towards the exit and running to the first bathroom she found.

As she went to wash her hands she stared at her reflection: she looked like a mess; her brown, long hair, which should have been in what she thought was a tidy bun, was pointing in every direction; her face looked pale and there were dark circles under her eyes (yeah, she didn’t sleep okay? She was way too excited for it.); but her eyes, well, there was a light there that she had never seen before and, as she composed herself, she smiled because she was happy. Nina squeaked in excitement and walked outside, trying to find a place where to eat something.

She saw a sign a little further ‘COSTA’, she had read somewhere that it was the British version of a Starbucks. Smiling to herself and with her two suitcases by her hip, she slowly walked towards it.

The queue wasn’t too long, and thankfully there were sits available, so she dropped everything by a table, grabbing only her wallet and waiting to order.

“Good morning, what can I get you?” the woman in front of her said, in a perfect British accent.

Nina had to almost stop herself from jumping up and down. Could an accent sound more perfect?!

“Morning, uh, could I please get a medium vanilla latte? And a cinnamon bun? And also a blueberry muffin?”

She was starving okay? She honestly could not remember when was the last time she had something to eat.

“Anything else for you?”

“No, that would be all!”

“Eat here or take away?”

“Oh, uhm…” Nina looked around, she had nowhere to be just yet. “Here?” also since when did they ask you to eat in?

“That would be seven pounds fifty, please.”

Nina took her 10 pounds bill and handed to the lady. Her first payment!

She sat down and started sipping her latte, _caffeine_ , she thought enjoying the taste in her mouth. As she was chilling there, she decided to finally take her phone and turn it on and notifications started to pop immediately and saw that her moms had already sent her a dozen messages and her best friend had tagged her in a couple of posts and had sent her another bunch of texts.

Despite knowing that it was 5 am in Salt Lake City, she dialed the number and called her mom.

“Hello?” answered her mom her voice hoarse.

“Hey, momma D! It’s me!”

“Hey baby,” the woman replied immediately waking up. “Is everything okay? Have you arrived?”

She already missed them so much. “Yes, landed a while ago, security was pretty quick actually! I’m having breakfast at COSTA!”

Nina heard her mom chuckle. “I’m glad, Nina, just happy you have arrived safely. We miss you already, you know?”

“I know… me too.” She admitted and tried to distract herself from almost crying, biting her cinnamon roll.

“Ugh, gross!” the girl exclaimed out loud and spitting the sweet in her napkin.

“What?” her mom said on the phone.

“They have raisins in the cinnamon roll! Who would do that?!” she complained dramatically. She just hated raisins.

“Oh, honey.” Her mom laughed. “Do you want me to wake up momma C?”

“No, no let her sleep, I just wanted to let you know that I had landed.”

“You okay?” her mother asked knowing her too well.

“I… you think… did I do the right thing?”

Her mom sighed softly before answering. “You are following your dreams, Nina, it doesn’t matter what I think. But we will always be there for you and if this does not work… you can always come back. We will be proud of you either way.”

The girl nodded, more to herself than for anyone else. “I love you.”

“We love you too, honey, keep us posted, okay?”  
“Will do, bye mom.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

Nina put her phone down and just took a deep breath; her moms had told her that they would have been happy to go to London with her for a few days to help her settle down, but she had insisted that that was something she should do on her own, and deep down, she knew she was right, but at that moment she would have killed for a hug.

Besides, the initial excitement, reality had slowly started to hit her: she was in a foreign country, all on her own, she didn’t know a single soul and, very high-key, she didn’t even know where she was going.

She knew what her university looked like, (she had seen it in the pictures and the online open-days they had held), she had a vague idea of what her accommodation looked like and how the campus was structured, but in reality, she had no idea. She had never been there, she had never seen the place, she didn’t even know how to get there!

Was this a good idea? Was she risking everything for something that might not even work?

All the sacrifices she had made, an entire year, after high school, spent working around so to save money and move to another country where she could start from zero; watching her classmates leave for college, starting their lives while she waited in the back; all the time spent working on her application for a school she wasn’t even sure it looked like the pictures she had seen. Was she screwed? Was this whole idea just a waste of time?

Nina still remembers the day she went and talked to her moms about it, she was so calm and excited, she had told them that, for her to actually accomplish her dreams, she would have to move, specifically, to London. She had made her research, she had found a perfect university with an amazing Drama and Music department, it was close to London, but far enough to be safe (her moms would always worry about her safety, especially since she was coming from a small town), but most importantly, she would be in the theater capital of the world!

It was halfway through her junior year and she had watched all the people she had known since they were kids, making plans and getting into colleges all around the country, but for her, it seemed as there was nothing there. She had looked into so many programs, school after school, pamphlet after pamphlet, but nothing that made her scream: I want in!

She didn’t seem to fit. She never did.

So she had talked to one of her teachers, Miss Jenn, she was her drama teacher and someone who had seen her struggling and the teacher told her, probably with the intent of reassuring her, about that friend of hers who didn’t know what to do after high school so she had decided to move, so she had gone to the UK and made her way through life and now she had a role in ‘Wicked, the musical’. But what Nina heard that day was something different: second chances. It took her, probably two seconds, to understand that she wanted to do the same. She knew that outside those walls there was something more waiting for her, and she wanted it.

So she planned and spoke to her moms and, after months of debating the idea, they had given in and told her that, if that was what she wanted to do, they would support her.

And almost a year and a half later, Nina was there, trying to find her way through this whole madness.

She finished her latte, trying to reconnect with the present, she could do it, she knew she could. She had to. She owned it to herself, for all she had to endure and she owned it to her parents for always being there for her.

Checking the time, she realised that maybe she should start to get going, she was tired and there was going to be a lot to catch up to.

Nina collected her stuff and walked outside the airport, feeling the air hitting her face and kind of calming her down. Since she had no idea where to go, she opted to take an Uber and trying to set the ride up.

‘Pick up: first floor, row L.’

“What?” Nina murmured completely lost, what the heck did it mean? She looked around but the only things she could see were buses. Plus, wasn’t that the first floor?!

Pulling her suitcases she walked around for a minute until she found a sign (thank goodness for signs): ‘parking lot, rows: G to R- first floor’ she read.

_Right, first floor, this is the ground floor!_ She thought. This was going to be fun.

Nina booked the ride and waited for the elevator, to bring her up. She started to feel the exhaustion of staying awake for so long, plus jet-lag, plus, you know, the whole thing.

When she finally saw the plate of the car, she almost cried.

“Nina?” the driver asked pulling on the side.

“Yes, hi, yes!” _finally._

He quickly loaded her suitcases in the back and then, getting back into the car asked her: “University of London?”

She is not going to deny it, her stomach made a little flip. “Please.”

Nina was almost tempted to put her headphones in, but she decided against it, she wanted to enjoy the ride without any distractions. Her eyes were glued to the window and as they left the airport behind, houses and shops and streets started to appear in front of her.

_WOW._

It was just so different from everything she was used to, and well, it was so beautiful. She snapped a couple of pictures and sent her to her moms and her best friend, making a mental note to call her once she had settled down in her accommodation.

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled into a driveway and there is was, the huge and elegant orange building that looked like a castle in a movie and that she had seen in posters, pictures and that had been haunting her dreams for months now.

“Is here okay?” the driver asked stopping by a drop off point.

Nina was too lost in the view of such spectacular place to even notice him speaking and she only replied to him when he questioned her a second time.

And as the car left, she thought that there she was: standing where she was meant to, her and her two suitcases against the world. Or even better, herself and her dreams against the world.

She knew this was the right road. And she was going to make it


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The campus was so full of life, in front of her parents were helping their kids with their boxes and suitcases; some older students were walking around in groups, laughing and probably catching up on months of gossips and details that they couldn’t share because of the distance; others looking as lost as she was feeling, but excited at the same time, it was a completely different world, but she was part of it and Nina couldn’t help feeling blessed.

There was no way she knew where to go, she had a map and all the information regarding her accommodation, but she just didn’t know where to even start. Right by the entrance, though, she saw a bunch of people of her age wearing a ‘staff’ jacket, she started walking towards them hoping to get some help.

As she got closer, she cleared her throat and a guy turned around, smiling brightly at her.

‘Oh, hello you!’ he exclaimed excitedly, adjusting his glasses. ‘Do you need any help?’

He was so friendly that Nina just had to smile at him, leaving all her worries behind.

‘Hi… uhm, actually yes, I am new,’ _of course you are_ ‘I was just looking on how to reach my accommodation? I know it is off-campus.’

While she was trying to find a place where to stay, she had started looking at the pictures of all the accommodations the university had to offer and she had realised that, even if the campus was beautiful, she was going to need to distance herself from the place where she was going to study all day. Thankfully, the university had an accommodation that was just off campus, 20 minutes walk from it, but they also offered bus transportation. It took her about ten seconds to make a decision: she had already been able to imagine herself walking to campus, with her headphones in and lost in her own world.

‘You are in Block K? I lived there last year! I had the best time there!’ the guy replied sounding even more excited. ‘The bus stop is right there, by the parking lot,’ he said pointing it out a spot a little further away, ‘I’ll walk you there!’

‘Oh no, you don’t have to…’

‘It is my job, _literally_ , don’t worry about it!’ he grabbed the biggest suitcase and started walking with her. ‘I am Carlos, by the way.’

‘I’m Nina.’ She said shyly, were all people here so friendly?!

‘It is lovely to meet you! What are you studying?’

‘Uhm, music and drama.’

‘NO WAY! I study drama too! Omg! We have to hang out! I can introduce you to all my friends!’

Nina laughed and nodded. ‘I’d love to! I don’t know anyone here!’

‘Okay, give me your number, I can’t do tomorrow because more freshers are arriving, but on Monday we will _definitely_ hang out!’

Once arrived at the bus stop, Nina and Carlos quickly exchanged their phones and typed their numbers in.

‘So your work for the university or…?’ the girl asked curious about her first friend.

‘Just part-time, I’m a second year and I remember how chaotic the first few days were for me! Thank goodness I don’t have to go through them again but I am happy to help! Plus it looks good on my CV, I am already a star but it doesn’t hurt!’

Nina laughed again, as Carlos nodded to himself. ‘Yeah, I guess it does help.’

‘Where are you from, sweetie? You are definitely not from here.’

‘Oh, uhm, Salt Lake City?’

‘OMG! Wasn’t that where they shot High School Musical?!’ Carlos screamed and causing for some people to turn around and stare at them.

‘Actually yes, I went to high school at East High.’ Nina admitted and she was pretty sure that the boy was going to faint on her.

‘YOU. DID. NOT!’

‘Yeah, it was all right.’

‘All right?! Girl! We have to talk! Like you are kidding me?! Do you have pics?!’

‘I have something in my archive, I can send them to you.’ And that was how Carlos just hugged her.

‘We have been blessed. Please be my best friend already!’

Nina chuckled, she like the guy, he was spontaneous and honest, and seemed so sure of himself that she kind of envied him for being so… confident.

‘Where are you from?’ the brunette girl asked.

‘Born and raised in London! And ready to go back and be the new Elphaba.’ He said so seriously that Nina nodded at him, already imagining him on a broom singing ‘Defying Gravity.’

‘That must have been so cool!’

‘Yeah, it had its perks!’ he replied proudly, and Nina had so many questions to ask on how life in London would be, but she was interrupted by a white bus pulling in front of them.

‘Oh no! I have to let you go now.’ Said Carlos genuinely disappointed. ‘This is the bus, but please text me if you need anything else and I will text you so we can meet on Monday! Also, you won’t have classes this week so we are going out!’

Before Nina had the chance to protest, he had grabbed her suitcases and put them on the bus.

‘Thank you.’ She smiled as he, instead, went for another hug.

‘Not a problem, darling. Cannot wait to hang out with you!’

They said their goodbyes and Nina went to sit down, there were other students on the bus and they all seemed as equally nervous as she was.

As the bus left campus (and Carlos had waived at her as if she was going on a trip with no return), Nina allowed herself to relax in her sit and stare at the road.

Despite being close to London, the place wasn’t a big city, it looked like a cosy town: there were little shops and people biking, it gave her a sense of calm instead of the hectic lifestyle of a bigger place.

She knew she could get used to this, to be truly fair, she was already getting used to this new life: she liked having to discover the world bits by bits by herself, and she just couldn’t wait to find out more about it.

As Carlos had anticipated, the ride was about 5 minutes long and when she finally arrived she couldn’t contain her smile.

She had stared at the pictures online for so long but now, here it was! And it was exactly how she had imagined it: Block K was its own little village; there was a garden, benches, a little coffee shop on the inside and a completely different vibe from the one she had felt while on main campus.

Other students were already moving in and she could feel the buzz of them talking and laughing around, some hugging, some waving goodbye, it was just so surreal, she still couldn’t believe it was happening to her.

‘Hello, darling, how can I help you?’ the lady at the main desk asked as soon as Nina’s turn arrived.

‘Hi! I am Nina, need to register…’

‘Of course, what is your surname?’

‘Salazar-Roberts.’

The black-haired woman looked at the pile of envelopes she had on her side and eventually pulled one out. ‘There you are! Your room is on the main building, second floor.’ She smiled and handed it to a very excited Nina. ‘If you ever need anything, reception is just downstairs your block. In the welcome packet, you will find all the information you need, but if any question just aks!’

‘Thank you so much!’

‘Of course, honey, hope you’ll settle down okay!’

As she started walking towards her room, Nina just knew that she was going to love this place to bits. It felt so right to be there, she wasn’t even sure how to describe it.

She was never going to admit that she had struggled big time to bring those suitcases up for two floors (a parent had offered to help her out but she was strong… or so she thought), and she was panting so hard that she hadn’t even noticed that she was finally standing in front of her room.

_This is so real._ Nina thought, as she swiped the card and took a first glance to her new room. She let out a little scream of excitement: the bed and the nightstand were against the wall at the end of the room right by the window; the desk was just a few feet away on the other side, and the closet was right next to it. It was tiny, yes, but it was hers and she just couldn’t way for this adventure to start.

Nina pushed all her stuff inside and closed the door, she thought about making the bed first, but she couldn’t wait, dropping her jacket and her backpack on the floor, she ran and jumped on it acting like a real 5 years old.

The girl laid down and sighed in relief, she was exhausted, if it wasn’t for the fact that she on a bare mattress she could have actually fallen asleep.

Reaching for her pocket, Nina pulled her phone out and checked the time, it was almost 4 in the afternoon, _what happened to the time?!_

She unlocked the device and quickly clicked on the facetime app, it took exactly 2 rings for the person on the other side to pick up.

‘Yo, bitch! About time! Are you alive?!’ her best friend exclaimed outraged.

‘Oh, Kourt! I miss you already!’ said Nina pulling herself up in a sitting position.

‘No, you don’t! I can see it that you are too hyped.’

‘Definitely hyped! But I can still miss you!’

‘Tell me everything, come on!!’ Kourtney yelled through the phone. ‘Have you arrived yet? Is that your room?! Does the place really look like a castle?! Are British cute?! Have you had a ‘cuppa’ yet!? Wait, don’t! you gotta wait until 5 pm!’

The brunette giggled like crazy, oh what would she do without that girl. ‘Okay, chill! Yes, I am in my room; yes, it looks like a freaking castle I will send you pictures tomorrow; haven’t really met anyone yet, no I had coffee this morning, and what’s with waiting until 5 pm?’

‘OMG! Girl, this is crazy! You are crazy! I am so damn proud of you!’

‘Yeah?’ Nina asked quietly.

‘Of course! You should be too! You are so strong, look at where you are, you crazy girl! You worked so hard, don’t let that head of yours mess around with this!’

‘I love you, Kourt.’

‘Of course you do!’ she was smiling so brightly that Nina had to smile back, she loved Kourtney more than anything. Despite being the same age, the other girl was almost an older sister to the brunette, and she was not ashamed of admitting that, without the very loud and very opinionated girl that she called ‘best friend’, she would have been lost in more than one way.

‘Also, no offence, girl, but you need a nap ‘cause you look like you were hit by a truck!’

‘A-ha! I have been on the road for hours! Give me a break!’

‘Break? What’s a break?’ Kourt said pretending to look confuse.

‘Admit it, you miss me already.’ Nina told her ignoring the joke.

‘I will never share this information.’ The curly hair girl fake zipping her mouth. But Nina knew that she was missing her, they used to spend every day together.

‘Fine, you strong and independent queen! Don’t give me the satisfaction.’ She pouted.

The two girls spent some more time talking about everything and nothing, but when Nina yawned for the fourth time in a row, Kourtney told her to go and rest, promising to call each other the next day. (Nina didn’t cry as they waved goodbye, nope, it was a glitch of the app, for sure.)

Unpacking a bit her suitcase, the girl took her sheets out first and started making her bed, she just _couldn’t_ wait to sleep; she was going to take a shower and then sleep for hours.

Once her bed was finally perfect, she grabbed her bathroom stuff and opened her door when she suddenly heard a ‘Oh, you little bastard!’ coming from the corridor.

Nina frowned, not expecting to meet anyone but slowly peak past the door and saw a tall, curly hair girl trying to open the door of a room.

‘You must be shitting me.’ The girl kept saying as trying to move the handle.

_One must love the accent._ The brunette girl put her things down and, leaving her door on latch, came out of her room, making a little cough on purpose. ‘You okay?’

The tall girl turned around, apparently not expecting anyone either. ‘Bloody hell, you scared me!’

‘Oh, sorry! I just heard you were struggling…’ Nina apologised taking a step forward.

‘I locked myself out!’ the other girl laughed, clearly embarrassed. ‘Was going for the bathroom but the door shut and well… pretty sure this is a record, I arrived like twenty minutes ago!’

‘Oh no! I am pretty sure it happens to everyone!’ _She is tall!_ Nina thought as she tried to reassure her. ‘Pretty sure reception can help you out?’

‘Yeah but, well…’ she looked down and the shorter girl imitated her, noticing that she was barefoot.

‘I can give you my slippers! They will barely fit you but, you know!’ Nina offered immediately.

‘Really?! You are so sweet! I am Gina, anyway, sorry we had to meet like that.’ she introduce herself giving her hand to the other girl.

‘You kidding? Don’t worry about it! I’m Nina.’ And she shook her hand, smiling. ‘Let me get you those slippers!’

Nina quickly ran back to her room and grabbed the shoes, and went back again. ‘There you go! They are kinda tiny…’

‘Oh no, this is absolutely brilliant! Would you like to come with me? I am not even sure where I am going.’

She was beyond tired and in desperate need of a shower, but she nodded, not wanting to leave the other girl alone. ‘Of course.’

‘Thank you, thank you! I appreciate it so much! We can go out tomorrow night and the first pint is on me!’

‘You don’t have too…’ she started to protest but was cut off.

‘No excuses, you saved my ass, I own you one!’

The trip to reception was nothing special, the man at the desk simply gave Gina a temporary card and told her that she wasn’t the first one of the day to lock herself out, which made both girls laugh.

However, talking to Gina was nice, Nina found out she came from a place called Essex, and that was going to study Politics and International Relationships, which kinda made sense in Nina’s mind, her new acquaintance seemed pretty opinionated.

‘What about you?’ Gina asked on their way back. ‘Your accent is not from here… let me guess… Colorado?’

‘Close, I’m from Utah, and I study music and drama.’

‘That’s so cool! Why are you here though? It’s like… ages away from home!’

It was… ‘Yeah, I… needed a fresh start?’ she didn’t want to go into details, was too tired to think about the whole ‘whys’ and ‘hows’.

‘Ah, long story, don’t worry, girl.’ Gina said winking. ‘So what do you play?’ she changed the subject and Nina thought that she really liked the girl.

‘The piano… and the guitar… and the ukulele… and I sing too, but I am here to study piano, mostly.’

‘Is there something you can’t do?’ Gina chuckled.

‘I can barely dance?’ she offered, laughing along.

‘I can help you with that! I have been dancing since… I basically started walking!’ she exclaimed excitedly. ‘Have been thinking about joining the dancing society here, they said it’s pretty good!’

‘That is so cool! How come you are not studying to become a dancer?’

‘Well… my mother said, and quoting, ‘dance will not bring you money’, so yeah… I can still keep it as a hobby, so I am okay with that.’

Nina nodded, she knew the feeling, her moms had supported her with her decisions but they had made numerous remarks on how competitive the theater's world was and that they definitely didn’t pay enough.

They talked a bit more until they were back; Gina successfully accessed her room and gave the slippers back to Nina, who had started yawing again.

‘You wanna have breakfast together tomorrow? We can grab something at the coffee shop and maybe go get some groceries? And there is this pub, on-campus and tomorrow night they have some welcome party, pretty sure it is going to be a bit crazy but we could go and check it out?’ the tall girl asked sounding pretty excited.

‘Never been to a pub.’ Nina admitted, heck, she had never had more than a sip of wine! ‘But sure! I’ll text you when I wake up?’

‘Sounds like a plan! Thank you so much for your help, Nina, I am so happy that my first friend at Uni is you!’ Gina said and hugged the tinier girl who, surprised, awkwardly hugged her back. ‘Go and rest now! Sorry I kept you awake!’

‘Don’t worry, I’m glad I got to meet someone! See you in the morning?’

‘Absolutely!’

They both went back to their rooms and Nina, finally, managed to get into the shower, relaxing as the warm water hit her skin.

_This day has been crazy!_ She thought while smiling to herself. Who knew that meeting new people could have been so exciting? Who knew that barely a day in, she had already a friend?! She just felt so lucky.

Quickly drying herself off and putting on her PJs, she jumped in bed and as her eyes started to close, she sighed fully content, this had been a good start, she just couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello y'all! Thank you all for your kudos! Really appreciate them!  
> Feel free to let me know what you think of the story :)  
> Hope you are all safe!! Lots of love!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

‘So, what are you going to wear tonight?’ Gina asked while sipping her iced coffee.

‘Not sure, what does a person wear to a pub?’ 

‘This thing that you have never been to a bar, I just can’t, and you are older than me!’ she said almost outraged.

‘Hey! It’s not my fault if the law is different here! Plus, I just never thought about it.’ Nina replied chuckling at her friend and taking a sip of her own coffee.

They had met up for breakfast (it was more a brunch situation, considering how late they had both woke up) a couple of hours earlier, and, as neither of them had nothing better to do (reality was that Nina still needed to unpack and maybe, just maybe, take a look at her timetable), they had decided to go into town, have a walk around and get some groceries (mostly snacks because as Gina pointed out ‘Snacks are essential for students’ survival).

The two girls were now sitting at a nice cafe, bags of food around them, and were making plans for the night.

‘Okay, well, we are going to change that tonight! When we go back I’ll help you pick up a banging outfit for tonight!’ the tall girl exclaimed excitedly. 

Nina shook her head but couldn’t really hide her smile if she had to be honest, she was kind of looking forward to her first night out at university, she was going to spend three years here, the best she could do was enjoying it.

Her phone buzzed on the table, she picked it up and saw a message from Carlos.

_ Hello, my darling! Party tonight? They changed my shift! _

‘Gina, mind if someone joins us? I met this guy yesterday and he asked if I am going out tonight…’

‘Oh! Already meeting up with dudes!?’ the other girl smirked. ‘But sure, the more the merrier!’

‘No! He’s a friend… kinda? Plus, I think I might not be his type…’

‘Well, we can always get you hooked up with someone else tonight.’

‘Gina, I swear…’

‘I’m kidding!’ she jumped, interrupting Nina. ‘Kind of…’ she finished lowering her voice. 

‘So should I tell him to meet us at the pub around…?’ 

‘I’d say 9:30, we’ll catch the bus.’

Nina quickly typed a response and Carlos replied immediately. ‘He says: ‘Brilliant! I can’t wait to introduce you and your friend to the group!’’

They slowly and lazily made their way to their dorms, chatting about life and just knowing each other. Nina was grateful to have found a friend, especially when making friends had always been so hard. There was a reason why she had escaped SLC and well, she just didn’t want to replicate it here, where she was going to start over. 

‘Nini, don’t get me wrong, I like your style but… you dress like a grandma.’ Gina sighed as she was going through her clothes. 

‘Kourt says the same, but hey, at least I’m comfy, okay?’ she defended herself.

‘Okay, maybe this top…’ her friend, completely ignored her and picked up a navy blue crop top and starring at i. ‘You got like… a black skirt?’

Nina frowned, when did she pack that? ‘I might…? But I’m going to be cold!’

‘It’s September.’ 

‘In England!’ she pointed out laughing. The weather had been nice so far, but it was always so windy.

‘After your third drink, you won’t feel shit, trust me.’ Gina replied nonchalantly, looking for her black skirt.

‘I-’ Nina couldn’t even find the words to protest that statement. 

‘Oh yeah! This is it! Try it on!’

They spent an unnecessary amount of time trying different outfits and Nina couldn’t help but imagine how proud Kourt would be once she would tell her. Gina had opted for a nice grey t-shirt and a black pair of shorts.

They made some noodles (welcome uni life, Nina thought), and then parted to get ready, agreeing on meeting once they were ready. 

Nina got ready, put some light make-up on, under Gina’s orders, and once she was done she stared at her reflection in the mirror: her hair was straight down and she had to admit that the top was kinda nice; she put on her black trainers, grabbed her black jacket and was ready to go, she thought about waiting for Gina in the corridor, but the girls had told her earlier that she was going to call her mom before going out, and if she was going to be completely honest, she also needed a few minutes alone with her thoughts; so Nina made sure to have her phone and her key-card and walked outside.

It was dark outside, and as she made her way to the bus stop, Nina couldn’t help but stare at the sky, there was such a clear view, she felt good, things were good.

Other students were out: some were sitting on the benches, others were still moving in, some were walking to the same spot as Nina. 

She quickly sent a message to Gina telling her that she was going to wait for her outside, and another to Carlos informing him that they were almost on their way. 

Nina didn’t pay much attention to who was around, wrapped in her world but she could hear people laughing, others screaming, it was just another reality for her. 

The girl was snapped out of her world when she saw the bus approaching, she quickly checked her texts and saw that Gina had replied a ‘omw!!’, slowly, while texting the other girl to hurry up, Nina made her way to the bus.

She was just about to climb the step to get on when the doors of the vehicle shut in front of her face making her gasp in surprise and quickly jump back. ‘What the…’ she whispered in complete shock. 

The bus driver raised his hand trying to apologise but her attention was redirected to a chuckle coming from someone behind her, she turned around, ready to shout at whoever was laughing at her but her words died in her throat and her whole world stopped spinning as her heart started beating faster in her chest. 

It was a boy, a tall, curly brown-haired boy. There still was a smile on his face, which made his eyes – brown as well– brighter and carefree. She didn’t know what was happening to her, she was feeling… where there even words to describe what she was feeling? 

‘You okay? Did you get hurt?’

Nina wasn’t even sure what had happened at that point, she blinked rapidly, trying to go back to reality and just trying to understand what the actual hell had just happened. 

‘I- I…uhm… Fine?’

The boy laughed softly. ‘You sure? You look like you have just… been hit by a door?’

_ Oh fuck. _ She thought now mortified. ‘That’s not funny! I was not expecting that!’

‘Obviously,’ he pointed out still laughing. ‘I don’t think anyone would expect that.’

Nina quickly turned around, assuming that everyone would have been staring at the embarrassing scene, but she immediately realised that only a couple of guys were paying attention in their direction and, instead of actually looking at her, they were focused on the boy.

‘Let’s move? Before the bus runs over you? Pretty sure the bus driver might see you as a target at this point.’ He pointed out the curb and, blindly, she followed him.

The girl was feeling… turned upside down? Like she was hit by a tsunami? Uncertain? What was that… tingling feeling she couldn’t shake off? Who was this person? 

‘So, what’s your name?’ he asked, smiling again as if nothing had ever happened. 

‘I… I am Nina.’ she whispered with barely any voice, she just couldn’t figure out what was happening. _Was I hit that hard?!_ She cleared her throat, hoping to sound better. ‘You?’ 

‘I’m Richard.’ And put his right hand out, waiting for her to shake it. 

Nina reached for it slowly, unsure of what was going to happen if she would actually touch the boy, but instead of bursting into flames (as she had thought), she was simply hit by the feeling of his skin against hers, the warmth of his hand and the sudden wave of ease that ran through her arm and her body.

‘Richard.’ She repeated without noticing, she knew that, somehow, there was no way she was going to forget that name. Nina took another look at him, he was wearing a jeans jacket and a striped t-shirt, a casual pair of jeans that, she thought, suited him perfectly. She would never acknowledge it, but she was trying to remember every detail of him, in case she was never going to able to see him again.

Before either of them could say something else or ask any further question, a guy walked towards them and pointed at Richard. 

‘Yo, Dick-man, what are you up to, fam?’ he exclaimed ignoring her.

Nina let go of his hand as the curly-haired went to fist-bump the other boy. ‘What’s good, mate? You going out?’ 

‘Yeah, you know? A dude has to do what a dude needs to do!’ he said smirking. He was tall too, his hair dark and so perfectly styled.

Richard laughed at him, and Nina thought it sounded forced compared to the way he had laughed with (mostly at, in complete honesty) her.

She took it as her cue to leave, but as she started moving Richard looked at her. ‘EJ, fam, this is Nina.’ 

‘Nina, uh? What are you saying?’ EJ simply nodded at her, and the girl frowned at his attitude. 

Before she could even think of an answer she heard her name being called in distance and saw the familiar figure of the tall girl running towards her. 

Nina sighed in relief and waving very awkwardly at the two boys, she walked towards Gina, she could see, out of the corner of her eye, that the boy was still gazing at her, but she tried not to pay attention to it.

‘I’m so sorry I’m late! I was on the phone with my mum and lost track of time, did we miss the bus?’ Gina spoke all in one go but suddenly changed her expression as Nina got closer. ‘You okay? You look so pale! Did something happen?!’

‘I’ll tell you later? The bus is about to leave, though.’ They made their way to it and when the driver smiled apologetically at Nina, who instead, just nodded and went to sit down in the back of the bus with her friend.

Whatever had happened was something that… well, it made no sense. Mostly because… what had happened exactly? She couldn’t shake off that feeling, it was so… powerful and strange and unknown and weird and… she was spiraling.

Nina saw him, sitting a couple of rows towards the front, she could only see the back of his head but, somehow, she _knew_ that it was him. Outside was dark, there had been barely any lights but she had been able to memorise already every feature of this weird person.

‘Nina? Honey? Are you okay?’ Gina asked placing a hand on her arm. 

She nodded, not really able to say much.

‘Are you sure?’ 

‘Yeah, I…’ how could she even start to explain to someone else what she had just experienced, when she couldn’t understand it in the first place? ‘I think I need a drink.’ She admitted, doing nothing to hide the slight feeling of distress present in her voice.

‘We can definitely fix that!’ Gina laughed cheerfully. ‘And maybe you can tell me what the hell is going on!’

Once they reached campus, Nina stopped for a minute, forgetting everything about the boy and admiring, once more, the beauty of the building, especially at nighttime; she loved that view so much.

‘Let’s take a picture!’ Gina suggested almost reading her mind, and, trying to include the landscape to it, they took a bunch of photos. 

As she went through them, one thing that Nina noticed was how happy she looked; she picked one and sent it to her moms and Kourt.

‘Okay, let’s get you that drink!’ the tall girl grabbed her arm and guided her towards the pub. 

‘This thing that there is a pub on campus, which is also run by students, just doesn’t sit with me.’ Nina murmured as they approached the location. 

‘Oh come on! This is going to be fun! I promise.’

When they arrived, Nina looked around, it was nothing has she had expected: the outside had a wooden patio with chairs and benches where people were already gathered; there was also a gazebo with extra sittings and around it fairy lights that just made the atmosphere light and friendly. 

‘This looks sick!’ Gina voicing out Nina’s thoughts and they both giggled enthusiastically. 

The inside didn’t disappoint either, it wasn’t huge, but there were armchairs in the corners and couches; the illumination was soft and there was music playing in the background.

‘Okay, what do you wanna drink?’ Gina asked getting in line at the bar. 

‘Uhm… whatever you get, I guess?’

‘Sure, why don’t you text your friend and let him know that we are here?’

With everything that had happened in that past half-hour Nina had completely forgotten about Carlos, feeling incredibly guilty she texted him instantly and let him know that they were getting drinks. 

‘He says they are outside by the gazebo.’ 

‘I’ll get the drinks, why don’t you go and meet him up?’ Gina suggested. 

‘You sure? Don’t want to leave you alone.’

‘I’ll be fine! It will take five minutes top.’

Nina frowned but agreed and walked outside trying to look for Carlos, it took her exactly two seconds to spot him, he was standing and, while holding a glass, was trying to do show something at his friends, who were laughing at him.

‘Hello!’ Nina announced herself, smiling sheepishly, not wanting to interrupt the moment, but Carlos instead squeaked happily and hugged her. 

‘Nina! Oh, you made it!’ he said sweetly and maybe a little tipsy. ‘Everybody, this is Nina, our fellow drama lady; Nina this is everybody!’

They all smiled and waved at her and gestured for her to sit down. ‘I’m Ashlyn.’ Said the girl next to her, she had long ginger hair and Nina liked her already. ‘Carlos hasn’t stopped talking about you since yesterday, telling him that you went to EHS broke him!’

‘That’s not true!’ the boy protested and taking place by a blonde boy. ‘This is Seb! He’s a little shy.’

‘No, I’m not.’ The guy chuckled. ‘I’m just not loud.’ 

‘So you are saying that I am loud!?’

They started fake arguing while Nina and Ashlyn were laughing at the pair. A few minutes later Gina joined them and they all started talking about everything and nothing, just learning to know each other. 

The other three were second years, so both Nina and Gina asked thousands of questions about assignments, lectures and exams.

Nina was trying really hard to pay attention to the conversations around her, but her mind kept wandering away and so were her eyes. She was not going to lie to herself, she was looking for Richard and, a part of her, ‘the strong-independent woman’ one was shouting for her to go back to her friends and enjoy the night, but the other one, the ‘what the hell is happening to me’ one, wanted to catch just a glimpse of him and see if what she had felt earlier, was a pure accident or if it had been real, however, there was no sight of him.

No one knew how later it was, but the girl was at her second vodka-coke, gently offered by Carlos who couldn’t believe she had never had a drink, and she had been forced into giving an – quoting – ‘accurate description of the most famous school of the world’. 

She was just starting to tell them about the cafeteria when, shifting her attention for less than second, she finally saw the boy. 

Richard was a few meters away, holding a cup and chatting with some red-head, but as she stared at him, leaving her sentence midair, he, almost as if he could feel her, moved too and their eyes met and Nina’s heart almost jumped off her chest.

She was so caught up in his gaze that didn’t notice how he had started to make his way towards her.

‘I know you!’ he told her, and Nina realised that he was pretty drunk. ‘You are Nini!’

_ Ouch. _ ‘It’s Nina, actually.’

‘No, no, Nini sounds better!’ and he sat next to her taking another sip of his drink.

Her friends were looking at her with questions written all over their faces and Nina felt herself blush deeply.

‘Uh, guys, this is Richard…’ she said in a whisper, ‘We met earlier.’

‘What do you study, Richard?’ Gina asked giving him a very inquisitive look.

‘Drama and film.’

_ NO WAY. _

‘Oh, Nina too! Well, she does music.’ Gina said and Nina wasn’t sure whether she wanted to kiss her or kill her.

‘Ain’t that a nice coincidence?’ Richard looked at her and she almost had a heart attack. ‘What do you play, Nini?’

‘The piano, and guitar… and ukulele.’ 

‘And she sings.’ Ashlyn added. 

_ These people. _

‘That’s really cool! What about you guys?’

Nina was outside, there was plenty of air around her, yet, she could barely breathe; his leg was against hers and his arm kept brushing hers, his hands, which were resting on the table, were just a few inches from hers and… _what is happening to me?_

‘We are going to get more drinks,’ Carlos announced, as they all stood up and left Nina and Richard. ‘Be right back.’

While Nina wanted to shout at them to not leave her with Richard, but the boy just looked at her and smiled.

‘Tell me about you, Nini.’

‘It’s Nina…’ 

‘Nini it’s better, told you already.’

‘Well… then… you are Ricky now!’ she declared after thinking about it for a minute. 

‘What? No!’

‘Ehm... yes? You can change my name but I can’t? Plus, no one under the age of 50 should ever be called ‘Richard’.’

The boy didn’t say anything for a minute, just sipped his drink and Nina thought that she might have offended him, but then he spoke. ‘Fine, call me Ricky, ‘cause there is no way I’m calling you ‘Nina’. Plus, I’m a bit too drunk to argue.’

She smiled triumphantly. ‘So, where are you from?’ 

‘Ah, well, I was born in Chicago, but… Uhm, eventually, we moved and have been living in Manchester for the past eight years.’

‘Makes sense, you don’t have the accent.’

‘Have a thing for British accents?’ Ricky questioned her and she felt blushing again. 

‘Maybe? I just thought you weren’t from here.’

‘What about you? Where are you from?’

‘Salt Lake City?’

‘Yeah, you don’t have the accent either.’ He laughed mocking her. 

Nina shook her head but she wasn’t mad or anything, she felt so… comfortable talking to him, and she almost had a feeling as if they already knew each other a bit. 

They chatted about everything, the conversation was simply flowing without any uncomfortable silences or awkwardness; he was telling her about this recent movie he had seen and Nini couldn’t help but noticing how excited he had gotten when talking about it, how, even if drunk, he was able to tell her all the details. She observed how he would slightly frown when he couldn’t find the perfect word; how his leg would bounce at times, especially when he was thinking. She had met this guy less than three hours ago and she was so inexplicably drawn to him.

Nini had no idea how long they had talked for, however, at one point she saw Gina come back to the table and looking really apologetic she told her that it was kind of late.‘We still have to go back to our halls.’

Nini nodded and checked the time, it was almost one in the morning. 

‘Oh crap! I’m sorry!’ She was about to ask Ricky if he wanted to go back with them when she saw him checking his phone and getting up abruptly. 

‘Fuck! Sorry girls, I have- ugh, I forgot to call my girlfriend! She is going to kill me! I gotta go, but uh, it was nice to meet you all!’

He walked away while typing furiously and leaving Nini there, speechless and deeply confused.

_ He has a girlfriend? _

‘Nina?’ Gina asked carefully sitting next to the girl. ‘What just happened?’

The older girl had honestly no idea, but, even though nothing made sense at the moment she said: ‘Gina… Do you believe in love at first sight? And, that you are so helplessly doomed because your luck has been taking a vacation for an indeterminate amount of time?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heello!  
> Hope you all are keeping safe and trying to cope with this crazy world!  
> Feel free to let me know what you think!  
> Lots of love!


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